The first book in A Cider House Mystery series, Deadly to the Core is a book I almost passed up reading. I would have been missing out if I had. Deadly to the Core has an engaging female main character. Kate is making a new life for herself after losing her husband and inheriting an orchard from her uncle Stan. The idea of a cider house is really interesting and I liked hearing about how Kate set up her process.
Carl, the orchard manager, is murdered and Kate gets involved to figure out what happened to him. This new town has secrets and a forgotten history. The reader has to wonder if the lawyer in town is on the up and up.
I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narrator, Hillary Huber.
Thanks to Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the chance to meet Kate and other residents of Orchardville.

I liked this new series. Kate is working at starting over at the orchard that she inherited from her uncle. There are several people rooting for her to make a go at it including opening a cidery on the premises, but others keep trying to get her to sell out. Soon bodies start turning up and it is up to her to decide what is really going on before it closes her new endeavor before it even gets a start.

Deadly to the Core is the first book in the new Cider House Mystery series by Joyce Tremel. It’s a cute cozy mystery set in rural Pennsylvania, with a recently widowed Kate as the protagonist. Kate inherits her late uncle’s land and apple orchards, and since her husband has passed and nothing is tying her to Pittsburgh any longer, she jumps at the opportunity to fulfill her dream of starting her own cider house.

Kate is a modern no-nonsense kind of woman, who also can swing a hammer and frame a wall with the best of them, earning her admiration and respect with the tradespeople that she’s contracted to help her build her cider house dream. She quickly settles into her new hometown, helped by the fact that she used to spend summers there with her grandmother and uncle when Kate was a child, and her people remember her fondly.

Just when it seems that her cider house’s first batch would be ready for a soft opening the next week, tragedy struck. Kate must find out the truth behind the tragedy to save herself and her inherited lands before it’s too late.


Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the audio ARC!!!

Thank you Netgalley and Dreamscape Media for the ALC.

Story: 🌟🌟🌟
Narration: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Overall: 🌟🌟🌟

Deadly to the Core is the first installment in a brand new cozy mystery series. After losing her husband in a tragic car crash, Kate finds out she inherited a fruit orchard and decides to move there to start over. Her fresh start is interrupted when she stumbles upon the body of one of her workers.

This was a good start to a new series. I enjoyed the hint of romance to go along with the mystery. The setting is very cozy and the characters were interesting. I am looking forward to more stories in this world.

ALC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

‼️ New Cozy Mystery Alert ‼️

Deadly to the Core is the first installment of the new Cider House Mystery series by Joyce Tremel. We follow Kate as she inherits her uncles orchard & moves to a small PA town to start over. Instead of concentrating on renovating the orchard & healing from the loss of her husband - she has a murder to solve! When the orchard manager is found murdered, his death is only the tip of the mystery iceberg. Secrets start to unravel, leaving Kate busy sleuthing and keeping the reader guessing until the last page!

🍎 Cider House
🏡 Small Town
🧳 Starting Over
💰 Inheritance
💀 Murder
📚 Cozy Mystery

Method Read: 🎧
Hillary Huber did a fantastic job narrating and bringing the story to life!

Thank you Dreamscape Media for the advanced copy!

A very good introduction to a new series that promises to be entertaining for cozy mystery readers. While the young widow/fruit orchard/cider shop tropes are not terribly unique, they do provide a backdrop for a multitude of stories. Kate is a likeable, strong, intelligent main character who does not seem to be prone to TSTL moments - always a plus. The supporting characters are equally engaging, and all are people that I want to get to know better. This first mystery was well plotted, and kept me guessing for most of the book. I know it is a good read when I finish and immediately want to read the next book.

Hillary Huber did an excellent job voicing the characters.

3.5 rounded up.

Premise - 35 year old widow Kate inherits a fruit orchard - where a grisly murder has taken place! Meanwhile, a mysterious buyer is offering insane amounts of money for all the local properties. Kate sets out to solve the case!

This was a cozy, written in a charming way. I'm not quite sure how cozy mystery writers manage to make murder feel like a warm hug, but Tremel and Anthony have certainly pulled it off. There was nothing revolutionary in this story and I doubt it'll stick with me long, but it's a very nice palate cleanser between more challenging works.

This will be great for fans of:
* cozy mysteries
* second chances
* small towns
* farm/orchard life
* stories of greed

Thanks, NetGalley and Dreamscape, for the gifted ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Ok I loveeeddd this book. It’s hard to go wrong with a cozy mystery as far as I’m concerned. I adore the slightly goofy nature of the whole situation. Like this isn’t a realistic story but that’s kind of the best part. And I love cozy mysteries in audiobook form because it just brings the whole story to life. This narrator does a great job at doing that! Overall love the book and the narrator. Hope this author makes it a series of books because I would love this world to continue :)

This is a great start to a new series. The characters are well developed and have great potential for growth. I did figure out (more or less) what was going on with the mystery, but it was well-executed. I’ll definitely look out for more in this series.

I've become a big fan of cozy mysteries. That is not to say that I don't like a good police procedural, but a solid cozy mystery is wonderful. And this start of a new cozy mystery series is terrific. It has all the classic elements of cozy mysteries. A dead body (of course), a "helpful" best friend, an overzealous sheriff or detective, and a love interest. I liked that there was a slow burn of the developing romance and that the sheriff wasn't too over the top. The author also kept the story of the new business of the cidery active so that nothing got overpowered. I will definitely be watching for future installments of this series.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for an ARC audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Great start for a new series! I loved getting to know Kate and her new neighbors as she sets up her new cidery. The setting was beautifully described and the characters were so likeable, I felt like I was right there with Kate as she establishes herself in her new home. The mystery was well-paced and had me guessing until the reveal. The ending did feel a little rushed but that didn’t take away from my enjoyment of the story overall. I can’t wait to visit with these characters again!

AUDIO: 6h 19m Narrator Hillary Huber

This is a strong intro for a new series. As usual with audio books, I found myself listening somewhat on the go, so didn't take many notes, so this review will largely focus on my reactions. Obviously, I liked it. I like Hillary Huber as a narrator and had no trouble differentiating between voices. The chapters were simply announced, then right into the next chapter with no long pause. The narration nicely captured the action and subtle humor of the story. The pacing seemed solid and moved the story right along. Overall, an excellent listening experience. Oh, and there's a cat, Blossom.

As for the plot, it did take it awhile to get started but, as will any new series, the characters and set-up had to be revealed. Once the murder happened, the pace definitely picked up. I found myself liking main character Kate, although she seemed a bit pushy and assumed others should reveal everything about themselves without prompting, which seemed unrealistic. She's a widow, surviving the accident that killed her late husband and left her seriously injured, and is finally starting to feel alive again, but is reluctant to accept help. Neighbor Daniel doesn't seem put off by her, however. Kate's background definitely comes in handy although it's not fully explained upfront unless I simply missed it. It's more fully shown later in the book, however, and it's obvious she's had experience at not only operating a cider house, including how the machinery involved is set up and works. She's pretty handy with a nail gun, too.

Unfortunately, what she doesn't know is how to care for an actual orchard. That is a worry after the orchard manager, Carl Randolph, is killed. Who'd kill Carl? And, why? She's determined to bring justice to Carl and fortunately has the help of Daniel and, although they get off to a prickly start, earns the trust of Scott, the police officer in charge of the investigation. One thing I noted was that despite going around asking questions of possible suspects, she doesn't seem to appreciate that she may be putting herself in danger. Complications ensue. How Kate and Daniel pull it all together was fun to watch but, I have to admit, I wasn't quite sure whodunit until the big reveal given the multiple, seemingly unconnected clues. It was great to see her overcoming her past and finding new purpose with the cider house, not to mention connecting with both new and old friends.

Throughout the story, I came to admire Kate's pluck, impulsive as some of her theories were, and the calm, solid support offered by Daniel. Heck, she even suspects him initially. Thanks #NetGalley and #DreamscapeMedia for allowing me this sneak peek into this new series. I'll definitely be back, hopefully with some cider handy to sip as I visit next time. Love the ol' red barn, btw.

I love cozies and this is my favorite series debut that I’ve read in a long time. The narrator, Hillary Huber, is amazing as always and she is the perfect choice for this audiobook. I easily felt like I knew the characters and it seemed like a book that was well into a series and not just the first one. Excellent writing, characters, plot—just everything! Highly recommend and eagerly awaiting the next in this series!!